Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with culture and education

Jocks, Nerds and Rebels (tm)

Artw — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 13:07:53 -0800

To what extent do American Highschools resemble the stereotypical American Highschool seen in just about every movie and TV show ever, withever present competition for social status, rigidly defined cliques, omnipresent bullying, etc... etc?

Children's Literature: The Dark Side?

fairmettle — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 04:44:05 -0800

When children's books first became inexpensive enough for average parents to buy, were they looked down upon as a technology which limits a child's imagination? In the course of debating the effect of technologies such as computers and video games on a child's development, I seem to remember hearing the argument that in Victorian times books were initially frowned upon because they limited a child's natural imagination. However, I can't seem to find any source for this and now wonder if it was only a figment of my own imagination. Were books ever considered bad for children?

Book recommendations on the philosophy of education

one little who — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:53:38 -0800

I'm looking for recommendations for books related to the philosophy of education, especially those related to multicultural approaches to education or foreign language instruction. The people whose work I've read or have on my list include: John Dewey, bell hooks, Pablo Freire, Neil Postman/ Charles Weingartner, Rob Reich, Martha Nussbaum, and K. Anthony Appiah.

What else should I look at? What have you read that you found really compelling? I'm particularly interested in books (or articles, or whatever) that focus on the topic from a philosophical perspective, but I'd also be open to suggestions that come more from the educational side of things. I'd also be interested if anyone has opinions on the list I have so far or recommendations that criticize these writers/philosophers. The books I have in mind so far are mostly pretty recent, but anything from ancient to contemporary would be helpful.

I'm an undergrad studying philosophy, so recommendations can be anywhere from casual to fairly technical/academic.

Thanks!

How is Brazil helping Haiti right now?

maxg94 — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 13:59:55 -0800

What aid/help is Brazil doing in Haiti today? I am working on a project about Brazil's efforts in Haiti since the earthquake, but am not finding much information about what is happening NOW. Many articles discuss the immediate aftermath but not in the last 2-3 months or so. I am interested especially in things that might be happening with education and culture. It could be as part of a UN project or independent.

"Yo, just got back from the Coliseum. Someone slayed THREE lions today!"

acidic — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 20:05:26 -0800

What are some interesting culturally specific conversations students around the world might be having with their friends, parents, or teachers? I'm writing an English textbook for some students who are really interested in world cultures. We're going to spend 2 weeks on a country, with 1 week on nonfiction and 1 week on listening to conversations. They have to use that source material to answer questions, speak, and even role-play.

The material can be a little edgy, like talking about a boyfriend, but it's for 13-year-olds, so "my entire family was murdered by _____" isn't really ideal. For example, in the nonfiction section of Germany I've got autobahn, long words, Berlin street art, and the Ring Cycle. In the conversation portion, I have students discussing a proposal to extend their short schoolday. Looking for more interesting material though :)

Any country is ok, and countries I definitely need are: Australia, South Africa, Germany, India, Ancient Egypt/Rome/Greece, Switzerland, the Netherlands. But I'll have around 30 countries represented eventually. Thanks!

Famous books that are easy to get into.

mtphoto — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 18:03:40 -0800

What are some famous and/or culturally influential books that are not hard to dive into? I'd like to start reading more.

I'm a 23 year old male.

I'm most interested in reading some of the famous books from the 20th century that are easy to dive into.

Some things I might try: Catcher in the Rye sounds interesting, 1984 looks intriguing, Fahrenheit 451 seems powerful, and the movies based on Philip K. Dick's stories (Minority Report, Blade Runner, Total Recall) are awesome.

If you're coming up with too many books to count, just tell me about three books that had a big impact on you.

Help me nourish my brain.

Vindaloo — Wed, 23 Aug 2006 18:10:23 -0800

Can anyone recommend any good documentaries? Bonus points if its history or culture related. Recently I've been on a huge documentary kick (most with a leftist bent) but I'm having trouble finding new ones to watch. Here is a short list of the ones I've seen, that way you can hopefully get an idea of what I'm looking for.

The cream of the crop:
BBC - The Power of Nightmares
BBC - Why We Fight
BBC - Century of the Self
The Corporation
The Revolution will not be Televised
Orwell Rolls in his Grave
PBS Frontline - The Dark Side

Good ones but not "meaty" enough:
How William Shatner Changed the World
CBC - Stupidity
OutFoxed
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Supersize Me
BBC - Time (4 part series)

Things I'd rather avoid:
Micheal Moore (seen em all anyways)
Nova (educational but too basic)

A lot of the documentaries I listed changed the way I see the world, and made me go out and research the topics and people presented (for example, after watching The Corporation I read the book Ecology of Commerce mentionned in the film, what an enjoyable read). In a sense I feel like I know and understand a little bit more of our extremely complex world, and I hunger for more knowledge, can anyone help? Oh and I'll accept good book recommendations too!

Are blacks in the southern states of America more self reliant than blacks in the northern states and California ?

babyguru — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 14:08:56 -0800

Are blacks in the southern states of America more self reliant than blacks in the northern states and California ? I am neither black nor white nor even an American citizen.

But I have been living in America for about 6 years now.

And my interests in this question stem from my interests in how much culture determines the success of any group of people.

A black acquaintance of mine from Alabama said there are banks and construction companies and businesses run by blacks in the south everywhere.

But he has a hard time finding black business owners in Seattle, Sacramento, San Francisco Bay Area (including Oakland where there is a sizable black population).

When he got invovled in a law suit with an insensible San Francisco lawyer, he told her he is not a black man from California ---- an advice meant to tell her to not mess with blacks from the south because they don't make empty threats like Californian blacks, whom he perceived as mostly show and no substance.

This is an anecdotal evidence. I need some hard facts with good statistics.

The best data I can find come from Roland G. Fryer -- a black young Harvard economist whose main interests is to find out about black culture and black underachievements.
But Fryer's research hasn't come to answering my questions yet.

Sorry if my questions sound shallow and ill informed. I am not against blacks or any other race.

If anything I can say a few very negative things about my own race and the culture I was brought up in too.

Give me your modals, your prepositions, your phrasal verbs yearning to breathe free

mdonley — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 10:15:09 -0800

How do I teach 10 or so Indonesian academics and postgraduate students how to "ace" their US Embassy visa interviews and "prep" for life in the US? Personal experiences with the US immigration process? What are some interview strategies you can pass on to my students? I am three months into my first year as a (CELTA-certified) TEFL teacher, and this assignment seems an order of magnitude or five more difficult than what I've done so far - I've never *designed* a class from *nothing.*

I don't know who these people are aside from what's in the original question, how well they know each other, what their English abilities are, what they're researching, how long they'll be there, if they plan to move there permanently, if any of them have been there before, or where in the US they'll be going.

They *may* all attend the same university; none of them need TOEFL assistance (perhaps because it's not required for their programs, or perhaps because they have an existing score). Why these people need our school's extra help when (I hope) they've got perfectly legitimate reasons to go to the States and their institutions working for them is a mystery.

Worst of all, I have no idea what they expect or how this "class" was sold to them. "American Culture 101," "Brush Up Your English Conversation," "Learn to Fool American Visa Officers"?

The root of the question is this: how do I create a class that accomplishes the dual goals of getting them through the stress of obtaining the visa itself *and* making them confident (lingusitically, culturally, socially) enough to start a new life abroad?

Finally, I would be so grateful if anyone shared their personal experiences about navigating the US visa process - something I've never done as a US citizen.

Thank you so much!

Is there a site that will give you daily chunks of knowledge -- particularly science and history?

willnot — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 08:11:40 -0800

A coworker is interested in broadening her general knowledge with an emphasis in History and Science. So, she's looking for a site she can set to be her home page where she can get bite sized chunks of interesting information (like 5 to 15 minutes at a time). Any suggestions? She is aware of wikipedia, but says they don't update quickly enough for her. I'm not sure what that means exactly, but I've never just browsed wikipedia. If I'm going there, I'm always searching for something specific.